Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs GUIDELINES Community guide to local government in Queensland | www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au | © State of Queensland, June 2020. Published by the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, 1 William Street, Brisbane Qld 4000, Australia. Licence: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 Australia Licence. In essence, you are free to copy and distribute this material in any format, as long as you attribute the work to the State of Queensland (Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs) and indicate if any changes have been made. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Attribution: The State of Queensland, Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of information. However, copyright protects this publication. The State of Queensland has no objection to this material being reproduced, made available online or electronically but only if it is recognised as the owner of the copyright and this material remains unaltered. The Queensland Government is committed to providing accessible services to Queenslanders of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds. If you have difficulty understanding this publication and need an interpreter, please call 13 QGOV (13 74 68), ask for an interpreter and request to be transferred to the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs. Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in preparing this publication, the State of Queensland accepts no responsibility for decisions or actions taken as a result of any data, information, statement or advice, expressed or implied, contained within. To the best of our knowledge, the content was correct at the time of publishing. An electronic copy of this report is available on the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs’ website atwww.dlgrma.qld.gov.au . Page 2 | Community guide to local government in Queensland | www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au | Contents Responsibilities of local governments .......................................................... 6 Local government legislation ......................................................................... 7 Legislation reform ................................................................................................................................7 Local government responsibilities .................................................................. 8 Role of councillors ............................................................................................................................... 8 Role of mayors .................................................................................................................................... 8 Role of the CEO ....................................................................................................................................9 Conduct of council employees ...............................................................................................................9 Councillor conduct and obligations ..................................................................................................... 10 Council service requests ................................................................................ 11 Complaints about council services ................................................................ 11 Local laws ..................................................................................................... 11 Council meetings ...........................................................................................12 Agendas and notice of meetings ......................................................................................................... 12 Meeting procedures ........................................................................................................................... 13 Good decision-making ........................................................................................................................ 13 Page 3 | Community guide to local government in Queensland | www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au | Contents Voting ................................................................................................................................................ 14 Meeting minutes ................................................................................................................................ 14 Closed meetings ................................................................................................................................ 15 Financial management ..................................................................................16 Corporate planning ............................................................................................................................ 16 Rates, budget and asset management plan ......................................................................................... 16 Operational plan ................................................................................................................................ 16 Annual report and audited financial statements .................................................................................. 16 Financial policies ............................................................................................................................... 17 Accessing plans, reports and policies ................................................................................................. 17 Council grants to community organisations .................................................. 18 Right to information ..................................................................................... 18 Page 4 | Community guide to local government in Queensland | www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au | Community guide to local government in Queensland Local government helps deliver the Queensland Government’s priorities locally and regionally. Councils also have an important role in supporting the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their communities. This guide provides an overview of the responsibilities, structure and work of councils to provide accountable, effective, efficient and sustainable governance. More detailed information about Queensland councils is available on the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs website atwww.dlgrma.qld.gov.au . Page 5 | Community guide to local government in Queensland | www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au | Responsibilities of local governments Local governments have a responsibility to provide particular services to the community. Other services are the responsibility of the state and federal governments. Both the federal and state governments fund local governments to provide services. Councils may also gain revenue from rates and charges. The responsibilities of the federal government are established under the Australian Constitution. Services the federal government is responsible for include: • defence • immigration • foreign affairs and trade • postal services • taxes including income taxes and the federal goods and services tax. State governments have responsibilities for areas not covered by the federal government. These include: • hospitals • schools • police • housing • state-controlled main roads • rail transport. State governments set out the responsibilities of local governments in Acts of Parliament. In Queensland the responsibilities of local government include: • town and land planning • building approvals • provision of local roads • water and sewerage services • animal control services. Page 6 | Community guide to local government in Queensland | www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au | Local government legislation Councils operate under many pieces of legislation. The Legislation reform primary legislation is the Local Government Act 2009 The Queensland Government is delivering a rolling (LGA) and the Local Government Regulation 2012 reform agenda in the local government sector. New (LGR). Brisbane City Council operates under the City reforms since October 2017 address issues of integrity of Brisbane Act 2010 (CBA) and the City of Brisbane and accountability in local government, and follow Regulation 2012 (CBR). the release of the Belcarra report and other input from local government stakeholders. Reforms have included: • ban on donations from property developers • banning councillors from participating in decisions if they will benefit or suffer a loss depending on the decision • a new councillor complaints framework, including a new uniform Code of Conduct for councillors, model meeting procedures for meeting behaviour, and creation of the Office of the Independent Assessor to investigate complaints • mandatory So you want to be a councillor? training for election candidates • transparent candidate bank accounts Under the legislation, the actions of mayors, • changes to how a budget is presented to councillors councillors and local government employees must reflect the five local government principles: • expanded councillor rights to access information • limits on the size of councillor ‘discretionary’ funds 1. Transparent and effective processes and decision and new requirement to publicise spending. making in the public interest 2. Sustainable development and management of assets Proposals currently being considered include: and infrastructure and delivery of services